World News

Suicide bomber targets Pakistani troops

A suicide bomber has killed at least one policeman in an attack on a base in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

The bomber rammed an explosives-laden pickup truck into the gate of a government paramilitary base in Pakistan's largest city, causing a huge blast that also wounded at least 26 people.

The bombing is the latest in a series of attacks on military bases in Pakistan.

Earlier this year, at least nine people were killed when militants attacked an air force base near Islamabad.

Karachi is in the grip of a long-running wave of sectarian, ethnic and political violence and the latest attack comes as the city's main political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), is urging the government to tackle Taliban elements in the city.

Provincial police chief Fayyaz Lagahari said only the tight security measures in force at the base had prevented major loss of life.

"It seems it was a suicide attack. The vehicle exploded before the gate of the Rangers' complex because it could not enter inside due to high security," he said.

The flatbed pickup truck was loaded with up to 150 kilograms of explosives, senior investigating officer Javed Odho told the Geo television station.

Mr Odho said buildings inside the complex and around it had been damaged by the blast.

MQM has called an unofficial national "referendum" next week to ask voters whether they want Pakistan to follow the ideology of the Taliban or the vision for the country imagined by its founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.